Trevor Scharpnberg – @ScharpFitness
The other day I tweeted,
“Walk yourself through different scenarios that you’re nervous about… the day before a big lift I imagine exactly how it’ll feel and how it’ll look. Takes away all doubt cause I’ve already seen myself succeed a million times in my head.”
A couple weeks ago I was prepping myself for a big squat PR. Now I’m not one to brag about my squat by any means, but I do understand the amount of mental preparation that it takes. Up to that date I had squatted a wimpy 300 and it was ugly. For the entire week, I was picturing myself getting under 345, it was the number I had stuck in my head. I saw how it looked, how I’d look climbing under the bar and how it would feel when I unracked it. I put it in my head that it would feel heavier than anything I’ve touched. I over exaggerated the feeling because when I actually unracked the bar it felt like a feather.
24 hours leading up to it, that is all I could think about. I was zoned out of everything and from everyone around me. “Tunnel vision” is what some may call it. My old football coach preached about this all the time before Friday nights. He would tell us to imagine how we would execute each play and how we would look doing it. Going through the motions in your head is such a powerful thing, it gives you self-confidence and that is your most powerful weapon.
I remember when Zach pulled 600×16 and he said on a podcast that all he could think about before hand was the bar and how he would execute. Your mind can either limit you or set you above your own expectations. Try this out. I’m not telling you to block everyone and everything out for a week, but picture yourself hitting that lift, that basket, that shot, whatever it is, picture yourself executing it to a T. Setting your mind on success will produce great actions.
Until next time,
Trevor
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